Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by n1 on Friday May 19 2017, @05:44AM   Printer-friendly
from the that-name-again-is-mr.-plow dept.

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

Chinese metal scientists announced they had developed a plow using a new steel alloy.

Plow was initially used in China over 2,000 years ago, centuries earlier than in Europe. However, Chinese farmers nowadays would rather pay over the odds for imported plows because of their better quality and durability.

The situation may soon change, thanks to the new research.

Yan Desheng, of the Institute of Metal Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the new metal was developed on the basis of boron steel, with micro-alloying elements and fine carbide added, so as to increase its hardness while keeping its high ductility.

The new material had been used to make over 1,000 farming tools, such as moldboard plows and rotary blades.

Source: China.org.cn


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday May 20 2017, @12:47AM (1 child)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 20 2017, @12:47AM (#512462) Journal

    all those stalks and corncobs could be converted to char and plowed back into the soil, rapidly enriching it.

    They'll be even more effective in enriching the soil if you just ground or cut them, even better if you mix them with mushroom micellia before use.
    Charring will bring down the energy stored in chemical bonds - less energy for soil biome to use.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday May 20 2017, @04:26PM

    by Immerman (3985) on Saturday May 20 2017, @04:26PM (#512637)

    Not really actually, at least not in the long term. Dig in the plant matter and they break down and get reabsorbed very quickly. Dig in charcoal and you enrich the soil for a very long time - centuries to millenia. It's not a matter of energy, or traditional fertilizing. The charcoal doesn't get reabsorbed, it jest sits there, pretty much inert, altering the soil chemistry/ecology for centuries. I don't remember the exact mechanism, or even if it's well understood at all.